Well, it’s finally here…No, I’m not talking about Superbowl week. I’m referring to a rite of passage at the beginning of each February; Moving Day. At least here in Boston, the first Monday of February is when the long 18-wheelers pull up to Fenway Park, get loaded up, and make their long trek south.
At this point, it cannot be argued that the Sox have improved their team. They traded for lefty Garrett Crochet, snagging him from the White Sox. They signed free agent SP Walker Buehler to a one-year, $21M deal. They also signed back-end reliever, Aroldis Chapman to a $10.75M deal. These moves may be enough to get them over .500, but they haven’t moved the needle much, and they have left a ton of talent out there for other teams to snag.
There is no doubt that the Sox are too left-handed. They need a power right-handed bat in the lineup, especially after seeing Tyler O’Neil go to their divisional rival, Baltimore Orioles. He signed a 3yr/$49.5M deal with the Birds.
For the last few seasons, the Sox have been known as the “Interest Kings”. They are seemingly attached to every big free agent out there but haven’t signed any. They were even “attached” to Juan Soto for a time. For anyone who truly believed they’d land Soto, I have a bridge to sell them.
With Anthony Santander signing with the Toronto Blue Jays for 5yr/$92.5M, there are two big bats still left; Alex Bregman and Pete Alonso. Out of the two, I think Alonso is a better fit for the Sox, but they have been linked more closely to Bregman. But lately, those talks have cooled too, and it appears as more time goes by, Bregman is more likely to re-sign with the Astros.
It just doesn’t seem likely the Sox have any willingness to go anywhere near the luxury tax threshold. Last season the Sox were 12th in payroll, with a $181M team salary. This season they are currently 12th again, with a $171M team salary. They are nearly $32M away from the luxury tax.
And as for Bregman and Alonso, shame on their agent, Scott Boras…he continuously leaves some of his clients out to dry and misreads the market. The players do possess some of the blame, but when you hire an agent, you entrust him to work in your best interest. Boras often falls short. Bregman is holding out for a 6yr/$180M deal. Nearly from day 1, the Astros came in at 6yr/$156M. The difference is $4M per season. If I were Bregman’s agent I would have advised him that the Astros offer was most likely the best he’d get, but that I’d try to push them to split the difference and maybe settle on $28M per year. The fanbase loves him, and it would be dumb for him to go anywhere. But Boras doesn’t think like that. Not every negotiation has to be contentious or a home run. A double off the wall is sometimes enough to win the game.
Here are some recent free agents that have landed deals:
Jurickson Profar signed a 3yr/$42M deal with the Atlanta Braves
Max Scherzer signed a 1yr, $15.5M deal with the Blue Jays
Kirby Yates latched on with the Los Angeles Dodgers for a 1yr, $13M deal
Carlos Esteves is back in the AL, signing a 2yr/$22M deal with the Royals
Jack Flaherty signed a deal that could become a two year deal for $35M.
I’ve suggested it before, but MLB needs to have a defined free agency period, that expires on January 31st, with any un-signed free agents ineligible to be signed to a major league contract, until June 1st. The way the league recently tweaked pace of play rules, and instituted some other things, like the number of pickoff attempts and the elimination of the shift; they need to do this, with regard to free agency.
It is one of the most infuriating things about offseason baseball, (affectionately known as The Hot Stove Season)…which is ironic; because the offseason is anything but, “Hot”. Setting the January 31st deadline would create a sense of urgency for the players, which is 100% needed. The fact that two premium bats are still out there on February 3rd is terrible. So far, 102 free agents have been signed. But as of today, 124 are still sitting there un-signed. Each team would still have to sign four of these players for all 124 to find homes.
By this time next week, maybe we’ll know where Alonso and Bregman are going. But my guess is, that we’ll know who the next Superbowl winner is before either Alonso or Bregman are on a team.
